Police

The long arm of the law.

The Police are one of the major obstacles the Thief must surmount in the game.

Police Call

Multiple events will trigger the police:

• When a tenant sees the thief, they will scream, run out of the house, then call the police.
• If a tenant sees an unlocked door or window, they will call the police as they pass by. The door/window does not need to be open.
• If a tenant is home when the thief uses a crowbar to break a window, the police are alerted.
• Security cameras will immediately alert the police if the thief steps into their line of sight.
• Using a glass cutting knife on a window with a glass cut detector will alert the police.
• Driving onto a property with a personal vehicle while any tenant is home will immediately alert the police.
• On Industrial St., tenants will immediately alert the police upon seeing an opened gate.
• Pedestrians that see the thief doing something suspicious on the street will also call the police. Suspicious activities include:
  • Crouching or sneaking around
  • Holding thief tools
  • Carrying large items like TVs or paintings
  • Entering, exiting, or standing in house yards (trespassing)
  • Blocking the flow of traffic on the sidewalk or in the street
  • Lockpicking.

Police Chase

Two-Star Alert Level.

As of patch 1.050, evading the police has become more interactive. As long as the thief has not been detected by a tenant or pedestrian, he can easily hide in a closet or dumpster and wait for the coast to be clear.

When the police are called, the thief is immediately placed at a two-star alert level. Two patrol cars will pull up to the house where the alarm was tripped, and one police officer with a taser will spawn. He will conduct a full search of the property. If the thief remains undetected during the search, the officer will return to the car he spawned from, then the alert level will revert to one star. If the thief is spotted, the police officer will approach and arrest the thief with a taser. Even the Cloaking Device is not foolproof, so it's wise to wait out the police at a safe location. If the police finds the player's vehicle obstructive or is otherwise suspicious, it will be towed, which forces a checkpoint reload as well.

The thief can also opt to make a run for it through the neighborhood. This may be his only option if a pedestrian called the police, or there are no hiding places within reach.

The take-down.

Police cars can also give chase if the thief decides to use his vehicle to attempt a faster getaway and arrest the thief on collision. However, if the thief leaves the vehicle, they will resume pursuit on foot.

"You T-Boned me, bro!"

Police Search

One-Star Alert Level.

When the police are unable to find the thief, the threat level goes down to one star and the officer on foot will despawn at the nearest patrol car. A player can discreetly continue stealing during this time; however, as long as the cars are nearby, they can raise the alert level again if the thief enters their 360-degree line of sight.

Bug: When leaving the area, police cars will try to reach the nearest neighborhood entrance/exit road. At times, this means attempting to execute a U-turn or driving off-road. The cars can be found clipping through objects and may even ram the thief’s car multiple times, causing damage and repair fees. They will eventually disappear if enough time has passed, but the thief can potentially get stuck in hiding while waiting for them to leave or despawn.

Police cars attempting a U-turn run into in some bushes.

Police Patrols

Walking the beat.

When the thief makes enough of an impact on a neighborhood, the police will start patrolling to try and catch him in the act. Multiple officers will walk the same paths as pedestrians, using sidewalks, crosswalks, and dirt paths to canvas the area. They can be spotted from far away, or noted by the blue line-of-sight cone pictured on the minimap. However, police patrols are not very relevant as they spawn in such a low density that they'll barely stop thefts.

The two blue cones pictured above indicate that two officers are patrolling nearby.

If a patrolling officer spots the thief on foot or in his vehicle, he will give chase and the thief gets a 2-star wanted level.

The player can tell that officers are on patrol when they are selecting which neighborhood to visit. There will be a yellow or red badge symbol next to the neighborhood name:

This neighborhood is very close to getting a police patrol.

The police are out looking for the thief.

To remove the presence of police patrols, the thief must steal at least another item from any neighborhood - and without any police attention in areas of police interest.

Avoiding Capture

The literal finish line.

Officers, unlike security guards and tenants, maintain universal jurisdiction in the entire neighborhood so escaping the property isn't the end if they are closing in. On foot or in a car, touching the map edge will end the run and give the player the option to head to the Garage, the Thief's Hideout, the Pawn Shop , or the Junkyard. However, if the player would prefer to continue their shopping spree, then the thief can hide until the heat dies down. The wanted level is eliminated as soon as the run ends.

Hiding places are marked with this icon.

There are two types of hiding places in the game:

Closets		Dumpsters

As long as the thief has not been detected, he can safely wait out the police presence in one of these locations. They will not stop the police if he is detected, however.

Hiding is not a safe option while the minimap says "Detected".

Trivia

• Before patch 1.050, single grey beds were a third option for hiding. Due to player feedback, this option was removed from the game.
• Whenever the police successfully rams the player's vehicle, they will always say "You're under arrest!"
• If the player leaves the map when a police-related audio line plays, it will start looping until after the travel to another location.